Read Today's Scripture
2 Corinthians 5:17–20a
Luke 5:1–11
A liturgical and sacramental witness
Not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo (who wrote Confessions and other mighty theological works), Augustine of Canterbury was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, the fountainhead of Anglicanism. Augustine’s life is best described as a sacramental and liturgical mission. Although Christianity had existed in the British isles for quite a few centuries before, the pagan Anglo-Saxon invasions had destroyed much of it. Pope Gregory the Great commissioned a troop of missionary priests from a remote British monastery. Augustine sought to convert the pagan British king of the time, Aethelbert. After hearing Augustine’s gospel—and declining--Aethelbert nonetheless allowed Augustine’s mission to continue from an old, ruined, Roman town named Kent. The Venerable Bede (of whom we read yesterday) describes that Augustine and his missionaries entered into the town, with “the holy cross together with a picture of the Sovereign King, Our Lord Jesus Christ and chanting in unison this litany: ‘We beseech thee, O Lord, in the fulness of thy pity that Thine anger and Thy holy wrath be turned away from this city and from Thy holy house, because we have sinned: Alleluia!’” Imagine that! Bede also describes their mission as such: “to sing the psalms, to pray, to say Mass, to preach, and to baptize.” And that’s what they did. This led to Anglicanism’s incredibly distinct flavor: a tradition that was liturgically and sacramentally minded, but that also emphasized mission, evangelism, and witness. Thus, even until today, the largest missionary endeavors were carried out by Anglicans, leading to the Anglican Communion that spans 165+ nations around the world. Later, Augustine did successfully convert the English emperor Aethelbert which only further catalyzed their mission. He was later ordained bishop and his little mission post at Kent that they organized their missionary endeavors from, became Canterbury Cathedral.
Collect
O Lord our God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst call thine apostles and send them forth to preach the Gospel to the nations: We bless thy holy Name for thy servant Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, whose labors in propagating thy Church among the English people we commemorate today; and we pray that all whom thou dost call and send may do thy will, and bide thy time, and see thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.